State Seeks Input on Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Plan

The State Department of Education has been working over the past year to draft a plan to transition from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The State plan is built on the work started in partnership with school districts through Tennessee Succeeds.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) has a detailed explanation of the federal act and what it means for Tennessee school districts in its SCORE Sheet (Dec. 2016).

Parents and local community members can view Tennessee’s plan and provide the State with public comment via the ESSA website. A direct link to the feedback form is here. The public comment period will be open through Jan. 31, 2017. All input is welcome, although groups are encouraged to provide feedback as one entity.

Over the past two months, the State has heard from more than 600 parents, educators, students, district and school administrators, school board members, advocates, and community members who have attended ESSA town halls. This turnout during a busy holiday season exceeded expectations so two more town halls have been scheduled:

Jan. 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Orchard Knob Elementary School in Chattanooga

Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. ET at Tennessee High School in Bristol

If you can’t make it to an in-person discussion, the State website has the handouts from these town halls, a video from one of the presentations as well as the presentation itself, and an online survey that mirrors the exit ticket questions asked of town hall participants. You can RSVP for the two new town halls here.